TheoTrek — A Journey with God in Discipleship
Taxes and Dues
Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99:1-9; Matthew 22:15-22; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Rev. Chris Harbin, Central Baptist Church—Lowesville, VA
19 October 2008
We don't want to give to Cesar. That is the problem, isn't it? Rather, taxes seem to be for nothing more than to take away the rewards of our labor and keep us in financial straits. What happens with the taxes we pay, anyway? Politicians use them to concentrate more power in the hands of those who already have power and wealth. As we say in Brasil, the rigor of the law against its enemies, and the blessings of the law on its friends.
Taxes don't sit well with us. We see them as poorly administered to support the education of those who need educational help. They are poorly used to help the greater portion of the population. Only poorly do we see investments in public health and infrastructure. Those who have political power are those who want power and control over others. Power corrupts, and those who seek it don't need any further corrupting!
Maybe it's better to keep what is mine and not let the government know what I have. It must be better to work and even pay others off the books, far from the peering eyes of the government. That way I keep more for myself and my plans in life.
What has the government done to make me believe it has my best interests at heart? When has the government battled on my behalf? Roads seem paved only under pressure. In the process of public works, millions are wasted with nothing to show for them. Traffic tickets are prosecuted at great cost, but millionaire thieves walk away free.
If we are tempted to think or act along these lines, just imagine the Jews in Jesus' day! The ruling government wasn't even theirs. It was an invading foreign power that occupied their land. They lived under oppression at the hands of enemy armies who had the freedom to force any Jew to carry their packs for a mile without complaint. Their standard form of investigation used whips and beatings for minimal concerns. The nation as a whole considered it their right not to pay any taxes to Rome. They paid such only from pressure and fear. It was not due. It was a foreign imposition. It was violent, oppressive treatment.
What was more, it was not even called a tax. It was a tribute—an aspect of cultic worship. Tribute to Cesar was a form of worshipping the gods of Rome. This was a sacrilege for every Jew, more than any other aspect of Roman occupation. Paying tribute was a declaration that Rome had divine rights to govern Israel. More than counter the commandments of Yahweh, the God of Israel, it was an insult to the position of Yahweh before the gods of Rome and the position of the people as the chosen nation of the only, Almighty God!
How could a Jew NOT have problems with this? To worship one other than God was anathema to the entire people. A religious leader could not position himself against God, but neither could he position himself against Rome without receiving the brunt of Rome's violent response.
"Should we, or not, pay tribute to Cesar?" They knew that asking Jesus about the required tribute would have him trapped. No one likes paying taxes, much less paying the tribute. They saw it as more than a mere inconvenience. If Jesus pronounced himself against the tribute, the people would applaud, but the soldiers would cart him off to death for insurrection and treason against Rome. There was no fitting response. They were the people of God and should pay no tribute to anyone!
Jesus surprised them all. His answer was much more than any expected. "Show me the coin for the tribute. Whose is the image on it?"
That it had an image was interesting enough. Images were understood as contrary to God's commandments. To make an image was a step in idolatry. To serve an image was another step. Keeping an image for oneself was also a form of idolatry. It was to place higher confidence in a metal engraving than in God.
"It is Cesar's," was the answer. "If the image is Cesar's, give it back to Cesar. That which has the image of God, give wholly to God."
No one knew how to reply. The required tribute was something made by men. To hang onto it was greater idolatry than to return it to its originator. What God required was so much more than the coin of the tribute. It was the tribute of a life given completely into the hands of God. It was one's breath, sweat, word, and all else of one's possessions.
While the Jews looked at the tribute as an idolatrous act, they participated in another form of idolatry, worshipping their goods, coins, and gold in place of honoring God with the fullness of their lives. They were required to pay tribute to Cesar as an obligation. How much more did they owe God!
In the Scriptures of the day, one spoke of the tithe. It was the tenth part of one's income that was given to God. There were also other required offerings that in total became more like the seventh part of one's income. As the Sabbath was a seventh part of one's time given wholly to God, so the seventh part of one's resources were due in worship and service to God. This was the foundational part of worship. It was the means for reverencing God and demonstrating one's commitment and dedication.
For Jesus, it was not enough. While we consider the tithe as a maximum, Jesus saw it as a minimum. While we think of taxes as improper impositions, Jesus considered them just one more part of life. Dedication to God, however, required much more. It was a question of giving our all—one hundred per cent.
For Jesus, financial issues were not separate from faith. They are an intrinsic part of faith. How we manage our time is important to God. How we manage our money is important to God. How we manage every aspect of our lives and resources cannot and should not be separated from our relationship with God. Where we invest our time, money, and resources is where we invest our adoration and true worship.
While we might want to ignore along with the Jews our financial obligations, these responsibilities and how we deal with them are indicators of the condition of our faith. What would happen if God treated us as our banks, clubs, and jobs when we deal with them as we do God? Why should we think of our responsibilities before God as being any different? If we cheat God, do we really get away with it? Maybe it's time to give God what is really due.
—©2008 Christopher B. Harbin